SEVIERVILLE — Two years ago, God gave lead pastor Anthony Kendall and Connect Church in Sevierville a heart for prison ministry in Sevier County. The church began by buying a Recovery Bible for every prisoner in the county, Kendall said, adding that the Bibles were in response to a need and request from inmates and jail officials. “That was just the beginning of a great relationship with the sheriff and
Be kind! Be loving! Be focused! Be passionate! These key four steps can change the culture of your church. Too often, we let ‘busy-ness’ take over and we fall into the routine of so many tasks. But these four simple steps could help you to get back on track in terms of what the Lord has for you in your church and community: First, we must always try to be
Eastview Baptist Church in Huntingdon celebrates new sanctuary, church growth HUNTINGDON — Twenty people and $1.67 in the bank. This is all Eastview Baptist in Huntingdon had 11 years ago when Hunter Jones became their full-time pastor. “God has continued to bless and grow the church miraculously, faithfully, financially — in every way you can imagine,” said Jones. From those humble beginnings, Eastview has grown to a 500-person congregation. Since
Pastor witnesses unexpected reunion of descendants of famed Batts, Bell families SPRINGFIELD — David Evans, pastor of Springfield Baptist, recently welcomed two youths into the faith with baptism. It was a moment of celebration for family and friends — and it revealed a centuries-old connection. “As I’m going through all the baptism plans with the family, their mom says, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m the eighth-generation grandchild of Kate Batts,’”
ELIZABETHTON — Sitting down with Kaye and John Thomas inside Grace Baptist Church to learn about their almost 30 years working with Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) turns into an impromptu version of show and tell. While Kaye explains their role with the organization, she’s interrupted, almost on cue, by a volunteer. He reports to her about a man who needs electrical and plumbing work for the house he’s built
COLUMBIA — In today’s church culture, senior adults can almost be classified as an unreached people group. Not in the traditional sense of the phrase, but rather in the sense that many churches tend to aim their music, message and ministries toward young adults and young families. While this strategy can often result in church growth, it can also have the negative side effect of excluding an entire demographic: senior
FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s communications team won 17 awards in the 61st annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition during the Baptist Communicators Association’s awards banquet April 22 in San Antonio. The 17 awards featured nine first-place honors, including the Baptist and Reflector taking the top spot in the Overall Publication (Newspaper) category. “I am extremely proud of each person on our communications team,” said Chris Turner, TBMB
Our beautiful state of Tennessee has more than 3,000 partner churches spreading across the farmlands, metropolitan areas, and small communities from Memphis to Mountain City. In our attempt to get as close to our churches and associations as possible, we have six regional Harvest Field Team Leaders and one ethnic/language Harvest Field Team Leader who relate directly to the churches, pastors, and associational missionaries in their region. I’m a “player
MARYVILLE — Wildwood Baptist in Maryville was a small church on the verge of closing when retired pastor Charlie Barnard received an unexpected call. “I ain’t going — that’s bad English, but that’s what I told God,” recalls 66-year-old Charlie. He had retired from 17 years as senior pastor at First Baptist Tellico Village just three days before Wildwood reached out in April 2022 asking him to consider being their
FRANKLIN — In some ways, it felt as if the devil was in the details at this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference. Severe weather, logistical challenges and altered travel plans were just a few of the obstacles that could have derailed the event. But it was God, not the enemy, who orchestrated each variable of the 2025 YEC. And in the end, the perceived hardships just made the victories all the
SEVIERVILLE — Two years ago, God gave lead pastor Anthony Kendall and Connect Church in Sevierville a heart for prison ministry in Sevier County. The
Be kind! Be loving! Be focused! Be passionate! These key four steps can change the culture of your church. Too often, we let ‘busy-ness’ take
Eastview Baptist Church in Huntingdon celebrates new sanctuary, church growth HUNTINGDON — Twenty people and $1.67 in the bank. This is all Eastview Baptist in
Pastor witnesses unexpected reunion of descendants of famed Batts, Bell families SPRINGFIELD — David Evans, pastor of Springfield Baptist, recently welcomed two youths into the
ELIZABETHTON — Sitting down with Kaye and John Thomas inside Grace Baptist Church to learn about their almost 30 years working with Tennessee Baptist Disaster
COLUMBIA — In today’s church culture, senior adults can almost be classified as an unreached people group. Not in the traditional sense of the phrase,
FRANKLIN — The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s communications team won 17 awards in the 61st annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition during the Baptist Communicators
Our beautiful state of Tennessee has more than 3,000 partner churches spreading across the farmlands, metropolitan areas, and small communities from Memphis to Mountain City.
MARYVILLE — Wildwood Baptist in Maryville was a small church on the verge of closing when retired pastor Charlie Barnard received an unexpected call. “I
FRANKLIN — In some ways, it felt as if the devil was in the details at this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference. Severe weather, logistical challenges